Ever wondered how you can speed up your weight-loss results? That is one of the first questions I get from my weight-loss patients. How can they lose the weight the fastest? In general, I do not believe that trying to lose 50+ pounds in a few months is realistic let alone healthy. What I do believe is that adding in one healthy habit at a time will turn you into a fat burning machine. Doing this properly will not only decrease your risk of injury but also your risk of burnout. If you have already started your journey and have been exercising fairly regularly, then you can start to add in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT typically consists of short duration sprint type exercises with low intensity recovery periods. Most circuit training is programmed with this method. HIIT sessions last around 30 minutes which is highly desirable for someone who is short on time.
One study found that 3 bouts of HIIT per week lasting 20 minutes over a 15 week period saw significant decreases in fat mass, fasting insulin levels, subcutaneous leg fat and abdominal fat. What is most interesting was that this study also looked at subjects completing 3 bouts of lower intensity steady state exercise per week lasting 40 minutes over a 15 week period and saw similar results(1). The Journal of Obesity found that HIIT seems to be safe and effective for overweight adolescents, older adults, Type II Diabetics, paraplegics, patients with intermittent claudication, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiac rehabilitation patients as well. This same study also found that HIIT improves aerobic and anaerobic exercise capacities(2). This is huge because the larger your exercise capacity, the more work you can do in a given time period. This means that your results will begin to snowball and you will get fitter faster.
The next question is how the heck do I start a HIIT program? While there are a ton of different resources online that can walk you through this, I prefer to keep it simple. I like to start people off with a Tabata protocol. Which is where you perform a simple exercise like jumping jacks, mount climbers, sprints or cycle sprints as hard as you can for 20 seconds, then you rest for 10 seconds. You complete this cycle 8 times, then repeat with a new exercise. It should only take 8 minutes total. Typically, I will have my patients work all the way up to 16 minutes. This is pretty intense and not for people just starting out. The cool thing about the Tabata protocol is that it can be done in addition to an existing program. For example, if you already have a 30 minute resistance training routine, you can add this to the end of your workout. This will take your training and results into the next stratosphere. Best of luck and always, send me your questions!
1.https://www.nature.com/articles/0803781
2.Journal of Obesity, Volume 2011, Article ID 868305